Top 50 Swimmers of 2012 - 40 to 31

The second annual Speed Endurance Top 50 Swimmers of the Year is upon us. There is no set-in-stone criteria, but as you would expect, this year the Olympic Games carried the most weight in the decision making process. Other outstanding achievements away from London were also acknowledged, but it took an extraordinary feat to better an Olympic medallist. Also worth noting, relay medals alone were not valued highly, however race-changing relay contributions were.

The second part of the list takes us from 40 to 31...

40. Nick Thoman - 2012 Highlight - Being the '2' of the USA's 1-2 in the men's 100 backstroke final in London.

Thoman gets bonus points for having to come through a loaded US trials final to make the US Olympic team. David Plummer was sub-53 seconds in Omaha, with Ben Hesen 4th in 53.0, but Thoman's 52.86 booked his ticket. With his 52.92 swim in the Olympic final he took the silver medal getting the better of a some big name rivals including Ryosuke Irie, Camille Lacourt, Liam Tancock and Helge Meeuw. Thoman's year has undoubtedly been overshadowed by Matt Grevers, but he deserves his spot in the top 50.

39. Thiago Pereira - 2012 Highlight - Finishing as the highest placed Brazilian in London with his silver medal in the 400 IM.

Despite finishing behind Ryan Lochte by over three and a half seconds, Pereira was still good enough to pick up the silver medal ahead of the likes of Michael Phelps, Chad le Clos and Kosuke Hagino. Having finished 5th in the 200 IM in Athens and 4th in Beijing, Pereira's hard work payed off as he finally secured an Olympic medal at the third time of trying. His poor freestyle leg came back to haunt him in the 200 IM final as he turned 2nd at 150m, only to be passed by both Michael Phelps and Laszlo Cseh to drop him down to fourth.

38. Cullen Jones - 2012 Highlight - Getting his hand on the wall second in the hotly contested 50 freestyle final in London.

Florent Manaudou's heroics may have led some to overlook Cullen Jones' first Olympic medal in an individual event. Jones was able to match his semi-final time to finish 2nd in the final ahead of Cesar Cielo, Bruno Fratus, Anthony Ervin, Roland Schoeman, George Bovell and Eamon Sullivan. He also swam a fine 47.60 leg in the USA's silver medal winning 4x100 free relay. He showed good resilience to come back after he placed 16th in the 100 free semis.

37. Ryan Cochrane - 2012 Highlight - Staying with Sun Yang for 600m before finishing with silver in the 1500 freestyle in London

The 1500 was expected to be a formality for Sun Yang, but Ryan Cochrane kept the final interesting for 600m. Despite being dropped by the Chinese champion, he still held on valiantly for silver and became the fourth fastest 1500 swimmer in history (third fastest in textile). Along with Ous Mellouli, Cochrane ensured that the London podium was two thirds the same as in Beijing. Cochrane also just missed out on the 400 final by 0.01 seconds, finishing 9th after the heats.

36. Takeshi Matsuda - 2012 Highlight - Playing a big part in one of the most exciting races of London 2012 with his bronze in the 200 butterfly

Matsuda ran out of steam a couple of metres out from the wall, otherwise he might have been the man to take down Michael Phelps in his signature event. Instead he finished third in 1:53.21, the fourth fastest performance in textile. Matsuda's 51.20 fly leg (1.16 seconds faster than his individual 100 fly) in the 4x100 medley relay also gave Japan enough of a cushion over Australia and James Magnussen for them to hang on for silver.

35. Christian Sprenger - 2012 Highlight - Breaking 59 seconds in the 100 breaststroke to pick up an Olympic silver medal

Sprenger had looked strong in the heats (fastest qualifier) and semi (winning semi-final 2), but it still came as a big surprise to see the Australian break through 59 seconds to win silver behind Cameron van der Burgh's world record. In the two years after the tech-suits were banned, Sprenger hadn't been back under the minute barrier in the 100 breast, but in 2012 it all came good swimming under the mythical barrier 5 times. Sprenger split 59.05 in the 4x100 Medley relay for the bronze medal winning Australia, but was out-split by Kosuke Kitajima (58.64), with Japan taking silver.

34. Anastasia Zueva - 2012 Highlight - Bouncing back from 4th in the 100 backstroke to win silver in the 200 back

After finishing 4th and 5th in Beijing in the backstrokes and 4th in London in the 100 back, Zueva must have been cursing her Olympic luck, which made her silver medal in the 200 backstroke all the more impressive. After 150m of the final, the race for silver looked wide open, but Zueva mustered the fastest closing 50 of the race to finish behind Missy Franklin. She became only the second woman in history to dip under 2:06 in textile (the other being Franklin).

33. Rebecca Adlington - 2012 Highlight - Her hard fought bronze in the 400 freestyle in a time of 4:03.01

Adlington's double bronze performance in London confirmed her status as Britain's most successful ever Olympic swimmer and was a fine return. The only disappointment came from the fact that she had been faster in both the 400 and 800 free at British trials back in March, something that plighted most of the British team in London. Given the form of Camille Muffat and Allison Schmitt it would have been a tall order to improve on her bronze in the 400 free. In the 800 free the silver escaped her grasp, but the gold was always going to be difficult with the form of Katie Ledecky on the day. Post-Olympics Adlington cycled 450km through Zambia for charity, which unfortunately does not count towards this list.

32. Elizabeth Beisel - 2012 Highlight - Her silver medal in the 400 IM. It took Ye Shiwen's world record to beat her.

After her stunning 400 IM world title in Shanghai, Beisel was the heavy favourite going into London. Unfortunately she came up against Ye Shiwen and her incredible 4:28.43 world record. Beisel swam a tremendous race, leading at 300m by 0.8 seconds. She finished half a second faster than her winning time from Shanghai. She ends the year with 3 of the top 5 swims in the 400 IM. She also picked up a second individual medal with bronze in the 200 backstroke behind Franklin and Zueva. 

31. Ryosuke Irie - 2012 Highlight - Beating Ryan Lochte in the Olympic 200 backstroke final, ending up with the silver medal

After finishing 5th as an 18 year old in Beijing, Irie put together 4 tremendous years in the run up to London. Irie's consistency has been tremendous and he owns 5 of the top 10 200 back swims this year. In London he was able to save his fastest swim of the year for the Olympic final (1:53.78, the third fastest swim in textile). Going into the final he must have thought that if he beat Lochte, the gold would be his, but unfortunately Tyler Clary scuppered that for him. Irie also picked up bronze in the 100 back final with a sub-53 second swim and gave Japan a great launching pad in the 4x100 medley relay that won silver with a 52.92 lead-off (slightly faster than his individual final time).


Top 50 so far...

50. Brendan Hansen
49. Oussama Mellouli
48. Yulia Efimova
47. Aya Terakawa
46. Cesar Cielo
45. Yevgeny Korotyshkin
44. Katinka Hosszu
43. Melanie Schlanger
42. Lu Ying
41. Vladimir Morozov
40. Nick Thoman
39. Thiago Pereira
38. Cullen Jones
37. Ryan Cochrane
36. Takeshi Matsuda
35. Christian Sprenger
34. Anastasia Zueva
33. Rebecca Adlington
32. Elizabeth Beisel
31. Ryosuke Irie

Top 51 Swimmers of 2011 - 51 to 42

As another year of great swimming comes to a close, here is a rundown of the Top 50 Swimmers of 2011. There is no set criteria, but clearly the World Championships in Shanghai carried a big weight in the decision making process. That being said, outstanding achievements away from Shanghai were still acknowledged (looking at you number 44).


Thanks for reading Speed Endurance this year. Next year should be something a bit special!

Today we start with numbers 51 through to 42.

51. Miriea Belmonte Garcia – 2011 Highlight – Getting the better of Lotte Friis over 800m Free in December, where her time of 8:22.78 moved her to 3rd in the world rankings.

The breakthrough in the 800 puts her at the head of the chase for Friis and Rebecca Adlington. Belmonte also continued her dominance of the short course pool with European titles in the 400m Free, 200m Fly, 200m IM and 400m IM. Had an outstanding year, marred only by her failure to medal in Shanghai.

50. Brent Hayden – 2011 Highlight – Winning silver behind James Magnussen in the 100m Free in Shanghai (47.95). 

It is hard to know what to make of Hayden’s year, having pre-qualified for Worlds he showed his true hand only once during 2011. He is the only man to have been sub-48 seconds in both 2010 and 2011, and that consistency makes him a dangerous player in an unpredictable race like the 100m Free.

49. Yannick Agnel – 2011 Highlight – His 3:43.85 in the 400m Free at French Nationals.

The swim back in March showed what might have been in Shanghai had he not fallen ill during a vital part of his training cycle. Despite the illness the young Frenchman was still able to break the 1:45 barrier in the 200m Free in Shanghai, which sets up a fascinating 2012 for Agnel.

Commonwealth Games Swimming Preview - Men's Freestyle

50m Free
1. Brent Hayden - Been in great form all year. If he can improve from Pan Pacs the 50m and 100m Free should be his.
2. Roland Schoeman - Defending champion getting back to his best? Has been training in France, swam 22.04 back in April.
3. Ashley Callus - Showed tremendous speed earlier in the year. Will be hoping for sub-22 with a full taper.

Wildcards
Adam Brown & Gideon Louw - The Auburn team mates showed they were on the same level as the likes of Nathan Adrian and Josh Schneider in SCY. Louw was in good form at Pan Pacs (22.08) whilst Adam Brown, at his first fully tapered LC meet this year, could be on the verge of a breakout competition.


100m Free
1. Brent Hayden - 3rd in the world this year. Has been superb over 100m and has a chance to be the only man sub-48 seconds this year.
2. Eamon Sullivan - Will need to have improved from Pan Pacs (48.84) to challenge Hayden. No shortage of talent though.
3. Kyle Richardson - Swam 48.69 in the heats at Pan Pacs. Just 178cm tall. Must be hoping it doesn't come down to the touch against 193cm Brent Hayden.

Wildcard
Graeme Moore - Louw and Brown apply here once again, however it was Moore who was the top ranked Commonwealth athlete at the final of Pan Pacs (5th in 48.76).

200m Free
1. Kenrick Monk - 5th at Worlds last year after a dismal Olympics. Multiple relay medal winner. Time for him to step up and win an individual LC medal.
2. Jean Basson - 4th in Beijing, 6th in Rome. Should be in contention at the finish.
3. Robbie Renwick - 5th at Europeans untapered. A swimmer who seems to be benefiting from the new suit rules.

Wildcards
Shaune Fraser & Thomas Fraser-Holmes - Watch out for the Frasers. Fraser-Holmes is the top ranked Commonwealth swimmer in the world this year after getting the better of Monk and Basson at Pan Pacs. Shaune Fraser has had a great collegiate career representing the University of Florida. He is 1.3 seconds faster than Basson in SCY this year.

400m Free
1. Ryan Cochrane - Class of the Commonwealth over 400m. Top form after his 2nd placed 3:46.78 at Pan Pacs.
2. Robert Hurley - Was in great early season form after 3:47.67 at Aussie Nationals in March. Well off Cochrane's pace at Pan Pacs but likely to be the Canadian's biggest challenge.
3. Robbie Renwick -3:49.13 at Europeans. Will be looking to drop another chunk of time with a full taper.

Wildcards
David Carry & Jean Basson - Carry is defending champion and seems to raise his game for Commonwealths. Over 500 yards in US college swimming, Basson was in top form. Still waiting to see him replicate it in LC metres.



1500m Free
1. Ryan Cochrane - As close to a sure thing at these Commonwealths. 14:49 this year is head and shoulders above the rest of the field. Sun Yang has apparently swum faster than Cochrane this year, but I would bet on Cochrane against any other 1500m swimmer in the world.
2. Robert Hurley - 15:00.96 this year. Looks the choice for silver in Delhi.
3. Heerden Herman - Impressive 15:06 at SA Nationals back in April

Wildcard
David Davies - A difficult year for defending champion Davies, however at his best he can challenge Cochrane. This competition may be the deciding time for Davies' schedule for London 2012.